Subject: what is this thing??
Geographic location of the bug: Eugene, Oregon
Date: 12/18/2017
Time: 02:53 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: just curious what the heck this thing is. It looks scary but I did end up letting it go, unharmed.
How you want your letter signed: chris
Dear Chris,
We are sorry for the long delay. Your original request arrived while our editorial staff was away from the office for several weeks and we were never able to respond to all the emails that arrived during our absence. This is some species of Trapdoor Spider and it looks very similar to an individual we located in our own archives that we never identified more specifically. It looks like it is most likely Antrodiaetus pacificus which is pictured on BugGuide and which is reported from Oregon.
Sorry about that. I found it under an old wooden deck in my backyard. It was hiding in a small tunnel dug into the dirt, like a trap door spider. I live in Eugene, Oregon and this was spotted during the summer months.